What Activities Are Currently Underway?

The Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy (WECOSS) seeks to address substance use through a community-driven action plan. The Strategy is led by a diverse group of community organizations and people with lived experience (PWLE) using substances. This set of strategies was developed by reviewing existing community services and considering best practices from other regions. The strategies were refined through a community consultation process and includes the unique perspectives of PWLE. A four-pillar approach has been adopted as the structural model on which the WECOSS is based: Prevention and Education, Harm Reduction, Treatment and Recovery, and Enforcement and Justice. Four pillar-based working groups have formed to support project implementation. To review the strategy, please see the Action Plan.   

The WECOSS is a multi-year strategy, with no end date. A number of activities suggested in the Action Plan document have been the focus of the 2018 calendar year and many projects are currently underway.

Key Project by Pillar

Prevention and Education Harm Reduction
  • Youth Substance Use Prevention and Education Engagement
  • Label Me Person: Anti-Stigma Campaign and Public Education
  • Primer Document for the Media
  • Community Engagement for Safe Injection Services
  • Needle Syringe Program Expansion
  • Needle Drop Boxes: Additional Locations, Signage, and Education
  • Expanded Distribution of Naloxone and Points of Access
Treatment and Recovery Enforcement and Justice
  • Pathways: System Navigation for Treatment and Recovery Services in Windsor and Essex County
  • Increased Access and Coordination of Treatment and Recovery Services in Windsor and Essex County
  • Strengthen Community Safety Through Partnership
  • Enforcement Agencies as “Community Resources”
  • Order in the Courts: Increasing Diversion Programming
Windsor-Essex Community Opioid Strategy Leadership Committee
  • Overdose Monitoring and Response System
  • Peer Engagement Strategy